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Exhibitions | ‘Sacred Spaces’ featuring Jabari Jefferson

Upcoming Exhibit

SACRED SPACES

OPENING FEBRUARY 8, 2025
FEATURED ARTIST: JABARI JEFFERSON
CURATOR: MARTINA DODD

As seen in Ebony.com, NYTimes.com, The Washington Post, What’s Up? Annapolis Magazine and more!

The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum proudly presents ‘Sacred Spaces,’ a solo exhibition showcasing the work of Jabari Jefferson, curated by Martina Dodd, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions, opening on February 8, 2025.

This exhibition will debut never-before-seen works on canvas, striking sculptures, and a large-scale community installation created in collaboration with local Annapolis students and residents. Through
his innovative approach to oil paint, mixed media, and augmented reality, Jefferson masterfully transforms salvaged materials, including textiles, books, soil, and clothing, into provocative artworks that challenge our notions of value and disposability.

This new body of work by Jefferson is a powerful meditation on history, memory, and the continuing power of Black cultural spaces.

By drawing parallels between the throwaway culture of fast fashion and the historical marginalization of Black scholarship, Jefferson exposes systematic patterns of devaluation. His practice serves a dual purpose: breathing new life into discarded materials while asserting the fundamental importance of Black intellectual and spiritual traditions.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
We are so grateful to our supporters of this exhibition: BGE, Maryland Humanities, The Links Inc. Annapolis Chapter, Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County, PNC Bank, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Foundation, and Friends of Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum.
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Join us for the Opening Reception of Sacred Spaces, on Saturday, February 8, 2025, 12:00pm – 4:00pm! In celebration of Black History Month, this program is presented by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and will include an artist talk, exhibition tour, and more! Join us for this unique opportunity to mingle with artists, curators, and fellow art enthusiasts as we kick off this exciting exhibition.

Explore the charm of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County—rich in culture, art, cuisine, and history—plan your adventure today!

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By downloading images you are agreeing to the following permissions: Images are provided exclusively to the press, and only for purposes of publicity of the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum’s current and upcoming exhibitions, programs, and news announcements. Permission to use images is granted only to the extent of the Museum’s ownership rights relating to those images—the responsibility for any additional permissions remains solely with the party reproducing the images. The images must be accompanied by the credit line and the party reproducing the images must not distort or mutilate the images.

Headshots

Jabari Jefferson, Artist
Martina Dodd, BDTM Curator of Collections and Exhibitions

Past Exhibit

REVISIT/REIMAGINE
The Civil Rights Era in Maryland and Parallels of Today

FEBRUARY 24, 2024 – JANUARY 4, 2025
GUEST CURATOR: THOMAS JAMES

  • Thurgood Marshall | Courtesy Afro Charities
  • Gloria Richardson (right), civil rights activist known as the leader of the Cambridge movement in the early 1960s in Cambridge, Maryland | Courtesy Afro Charities
  • Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.), Founded in 1942 by an interracial group of University of Chicago students, pioneered key tactics of the modern civil rights movement, using sit-ins and other forms of civil disobedience to challenge segregation. | Courtesy Afro Charities
  • Walter Carter, civil rights activist, chairman of the Baltimore chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E., 1960-1963) & Maryland coordinator for the 1963 March on Washington | Courtesy Afro Charities
With 2024 being the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and Banneker-Douglass Museum are declaring 2024 as “Maryland’s Year of Civil Rights” with exciting and relevant programming, exhibitions, and partnerships to commemorate the milestone year of this groundbreaking legislation.

REVISIT/REIMAGINE: The Civil Rights Era in Maryland and Parallels of Today remembers the legacies of civil rights leaders and their effect on Black Marylanders and the United States in totality. In collaboration with Afro Charities, images of nationally and locally recognized civil rights leaders from the AFRO American Newspapers archives will be on display accompanied by the work of contemporary artists living and working in the Maryland area. 

Exhibiting Artists: Quinci Baker, Sanah Brown Bowers, Schroeder Cherry, Shaunte Gates, Kyle Hackett, Jeffrey Kent, Lex Marie, Murjoni Merriweather, Jason Patterson, Ernest Shaw, Victoria Walton, Lionel Fraizer White, and Redeat Wondemu.

Curated by Thomas James, the exhibition space will be designed to emulate that of an interior home space with books, records, and other objects scattered throughout. This layout will serve as a visual representation of intergenerational relationships and how the issues of civil rights have transformed, progressed, and regressed throughout the 60 years between the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and our current existence today. Much like the civil rights leaders of the 1960s, artists today are utilizing their artistic practices to raise awareness, and drive commentary and conversation around topics such as education inequities, race-based violence, and unjust treatment from governmental entities. Additionally, the contemporary works in this exhibition amplify issues of today including disability justice, technological surveillance, and the relationship between spirituality and trauma.

REVISIT/REIMAGINE also serves as a coming together of a future these civil rights leaders dreamed of. Their progress laid the groundwork for the leaders of today to continue to fight for rights today and continue to caretake for one another. This exhibition also displays artwork of positive self-image, communal unity, and celebrations of culture and life.

Special Thanks: Afro Charities, Association of African American Museums, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, Inc., BGE, Friends of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, National Park Service African American Civil Rights Network, Nicole Johnson of Baltimore Read Aloud, and PNC Bank.
Opening Reception Recap Video
Curated Reading List
Purchase Catalog

The exhibit catalog for REVISIT/REIMAGINE is now available! The catalog features images of the installation and works from thirteen DMV-based artists as well as six insightful essays, a roundtable discussion on preserving Black history in Maryland, and select photos from the AFRO American Newspapers Archives courtesy of Afro Charities. 

Featured authors include: Chanel C. Johnson, Martina Dodd, Thomas James, Savannah Wood, Dr. Kali-Ahset Amen, Angela N. Carroll, Deyane Moses, Webster Phillips III, Jaelon T. Moaney, and Jason Patterson.

Thank you to our bookstore partner, Baltimore Read Aloud. Get your copy right here at the museum.

 

Permanent Exhibit

Deep Roots, Rising Waters: 
A Celebration of African Americans in Maryland

Deep Roots, Rising Waters offers a comprehensive look at African American history in Maryland, spanning from 1633 to the 1960’s. Discover the influence of Black Marylanders on both state and national levels, while also uncovering the stories of lesser-known but equally significant individuals who shaped the Chesapeake region.

  • Learn the story of Mathias De Sousa, Maryland’s first known colonist of African descent.
  • Discover how Benjamin Banneker utilized his almanac as a strategic protest against slavery in his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson.
  • Examine the historical advertisement for the auction where Kunta Kinte was sold into slavery.
  • Listen to a powerful speech by Frederick Douglass as he condemned racism and slavery in America. 
  • Uncover the many ways Black women liberated themselves from captivity by learning about Harriet Tubman’s leadership on the Underground Railroad and Lear Green’s courageous act of shipping herself to freedom.
  • Explore Maryland’s connection to Arctic exploration through the pioneering achievements of Matthew Henson and Herbert Frisby.
  • Experience the rich cultural history of Carr’s Beach and Sparrow’s Beach through stories and music from these iconic African American spots of leisure.
  • Learn about Thurgood Marshall’s relentless fight to dismantle segregation and transform the U.S. education system.
  • Discover Gloria Richardson’s fearless activism and leadership in the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, whose efforts ultimately expanded access to job training, housing, and education in Cambridge, Maryland, and beyond. 

Past Exhibits

A Story to tell Celebrating Black Art & Literacy in Maryland NOVEMBER 8, 2023 –  JANUARY 5, 2024 ARTIST: Ernest Shaw, Jr. GUEST CURATOR: Chanel C. Johnson

A Story to tell

Celebrating Black Art & Literacy in Maryland

NOVEMBER 8, 2023 –  JANUARY 5, 2024

ARTIST: Ernest Shaw, Jr.
GUEST CURATOR: Chanel C. Johnson

Explore

The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and joy

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

GUEST CURATOR: Myrtis Bedolla

Explore
Purchase catalog

HONOR: Celebrating Black Women’s Art

APRIL 19 – JUNE 27, 2022

CURATOR: Schillica Howard

Explore
Freedom Bound: Runaways of the ChesapeakeSeptember 18, 2021 – March 1, 2022
The Black Vote Mural ProjectFebruary 15, 2020 – August 31, 2021
Doing the Work: Celebrating 50 Years of the MCAAHCAugust 10 – December 28, 2019
Verda’s Place: An Homage to a Valiant WomanMarch 8 – December 28, 2019
Songs of the Caged BirdJanuary 12 – June 8, 2019
Laurence Hurst Anniversary ShowJanuary 12 – June 8, 2019
Douglass Reading RoomJuly 5, 2018 – February 28, 2019

2009 – 2016 Exhibits – click here 

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